The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of geranium plant, botanically known as Pelargonium zonale, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name xe2x80x98Fistadorxe2x80x99.
xe2x80x98Fistadorxe2x80x99 is a product of a planned breeding program which had the objective of creating new geranium varieties with red flower color, medium green, zoned foliage, and medium sized plant habit.
xe2x80x98Fistadorxe2x80x99 was originated from a hybridization made by the inventor, Angelika Utecht, in a controlled breeding program in Galdar, Gran Canaria, Spain, in 1991. The female parent was the cultivar xe2x80x98Fisnidaxe2x80x99 (unpatented), characterized by single-shaped florets, orange-red flowerheads on strong peduncles, medium green, zoned foliage, and vigorous growth. The male parent of xe2x80x98Fistadorxe2x80x99 was the commercial variety xe2x80x98Robexe2x80x99, having dark cherry-red, semi-double flowers, light to medium green foliage with weak zonation, and compact plant habit.
xe2x80x98Fistadorxe2x80x99 was selected as one flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross by the inventor, Angelika Utecht, in 1992 in a controlled environment in Galdar, Gran Canaria, Spain.
The first act of asexual reproduction of xe2x80x98Fistadorxe2x80x99 was accomplished when vegetative cuttings were taken from the initial selection in autumn 1992 in a controlled environment in Galdar, Gran Canaria, Spain by Angelika Utecht. Horticultural examination of plants grown from cuttings of the clone, initiated in May 1993 in Hillscheid, Federal Republic of Germany, and continuing thereafter, has demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for xe2x80x98Fistadorxe2x80x99 are firmly fixed and are retained through successive generations of asexual reproduction.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be basic characteristics of xe2x80x98Fistadorxe2x80x99, which in combination distinguish this geranium as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Scarlet to orange-red semi-double flowers;
2. Semi-spherically shaped inflorescence;
3. Medium green foliage with distinct zonation;
4. Medium sized plant habit, relatively compact during cultivation, fairly vigorous growth outdoors; and
5. Early to medium flowering response.
xe2x80x98Fistadorxe2x80x99 has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype of the new cultivar may vary significantly with variations in environment such as temperature, light intensity and daylength without any change in the genotype of the plant. The following observations, measurements, and comparisons describe plants grown in Hillscheid, Germany, and in Langley, British Columbia, Canada, under greenhouse conditions which approximate those generally used in commercial practice.
Of the many commercial cultivars known to the present inventor, the most similar in comparison to xe2x80x98Fistadorxe2x80x99 is the related cultivar xe2x80x98Fissambaxe2x80x99 (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,364). In comparison to xe2x80x98Fissambaxe2x80x99, xe2x80x98Fistadorxe2x80x99 has a slightly lighter, more orange-red or scarlet shade of flower color, somewhat differently shaped inflorescence (wider, semi-spherical, not spherical), weaker anthocyanin (reddish) coloring of pedicels and sepals, slightly stronger zonation, somewhat stronger growth and more rounded, lower and wider plant habit.